I’ve been thinking a lot about teachers lately. Whether it’s Mrs. du Toit’s railing about evil public schools, or an absolutely gorgeous essay/poem by Taylor Mali, or the “60 Minutes” story on the inner-city debate team, it seems I’m fated to think about teachers and their impact this week.
Everyone has horror stories. Bob Scripture, the truly evil phy ed teacher, used to make kids sit in an imaginary chair against the wall for just about any offense, like making the wrong turn in square dancing. (Yes, we had square dancing in elementary school phy ed. And lots of other strange stuff.)
But what I remember most from my public (!) education were the people who challenged me, supported me, gave me the confidence to succeed. They taught me that questioning is the only way to learn, and they taught me that continually learning is the best way to live. These people are heroes, no question.
Two people who come immediately to mind are the now-infamous Bill Keys, and the (to me) legendary Patricia Lehman, both teachers at West High School in Madison back in the day. Keys had a wonderful anarchy about him, a twinkle in his eye that inspired me greatly. He was one of the people who made me realize how much words and writing matter.
Pat Lehman encouraged me both to try the school paper, and to apply to Northwestern University – these decisions shaped my life immensely. Just to give you an idea of how great a teacher she was, her class in linguistics and grammar was incredibly popular (and fun and challenging) among jaded and cynical teenagers. She had an intelligence, a warmth that was almost magic. I owe her more than I can say.
Finally, a quote from “Finite and Infinite Games,” a wonderful little book I’ll most likely write more about in the future.
“To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated…Training repeats a completed past in the future. Education continues an unfinished past into the future.”
Mrs. du Toit and her ilk want more training. I want more education.
nice